Although Brussels sprouts are becoming available all year round, senior British foodies will not buy them until there has been a frost on them before harvesting. It is said to improve the flavour, although I think that modern varieties are not as bitter as some of the old ones were.

I think this is why many adults think they don't like them - their memories are of what their parents tried to force-feed them as children. The flavour has got better since then.

To my experience it’s actually the fact that children’s taste buts are too sensitive to those green horror balls. I never liked them as a kid but as I grew older so did my taste sensation and I like them now.

Unlike Sabrina, in our house the custom is to slice the stalk end in a cross-wise fashion to a depth of about 1/4 - 1/3 of the diameter. That way more surface area of the toughest part of the sprout is exposed to the braising liquid, and therefore cooks more quickly - as Michael says, the minimum amount of cooking is needed to enjoy these chaps at there best.

Trim the base and discard any yellow outer leaves. Steam until just tender then toss in butter. Finally, toss into the rubbish bin. Sprouts are disgusting and I still get the heaves when I remember being forced to eat them as a child. They are the Devil's testicles!

My favorite way of cooking brussels sprouts is to braise them in heavy cream. I got the recipe from Cook's Illustrated. Just halve the brussel sprouts, braise them with heavy cream, salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.

The heavy cream mixes with the brussel sprouts and thickens to form its own sauce. It's sooo good... but, of course, all the cream will clog your arteries.

The best way I have ever prepared Brussels sprouts is first to steam them (on the stove or in the microwave) and then fry then in a heavy pan with butter, minced onion and lemon zest. I have converted a few
Brussels sprouts haters with this method.[/b]

This article reminds me of a Good Eats episode that was a couple of nights ago about peas and the reason they have a bad reputation (because people have bad memories of being forced to eat them by parents that didn't know how to make them). This recipe sounds simple and delicious, I'll have to give it a try sometime. Thank you for sharing it with us :3

Heat oven to 190°C. Prepare oven-dish: butter the sides and cover with bacon slices.
Put most of the sprouts (reserve a few) in a blender with white sauce. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Fold yolks manually through the mixture.
Beat egg-whites til stiff and fold into the mixture.
Pour half in a greased oven-dish, put some sprouts in a row, add rest of the mixture. Cover with lean bacon.
Bake for 35 minutes.
Let cool a bit. Serve in slices as paté.

*Without the bacon, serve with potatoes and lard (or pork).
(For more Belgian and other simple recipes visit
[url]http://foodz.blogspot.com)[/url]

Braising is a specific technique that involves browning, followed by adding a small amount of liquid and cooking at low heat for quite a long time. It is typically used for tough cuts of meat. What you have done here is simply boiling.

Since I live in Brussels and have yet to find a really satisfactory way of cooking Brussels sprouts, I had high hopes for your recipe and I was not disappointed; in fact it was excellent. I used walnut oil and squeezed a bit of lemon juice over them instead of the butter. I loved them but the real test was with my 2 1/2 year old twins: Christain ate a few without much comment but Francisca called them "yum" and kept coming back for more. My wife, who hates Brussels sprouts, also loved them.

Roasting is also a great prep for brussels sprouts. Just put them on a pan with some olive oil... I am pretty liberal with the EVOO!... and then roast at 450 until they turn nice and dark on the outside. The outside leaves may even char slightly, but the insides get nice and tender. A little salt and pepper... My goodness they are good. Prob takes about 20 min, but that depends a lot o your oven. My kids will beg for them... and they are so expensive sometimes, I refuse!

Many years ago to preserve a relationship I learned to eat brussels sprouts steamed until just done with a drizzle of hot sauce and some sea salt. Sometimes it's a wing sauce, sometimes just a good cayenne pepper sauce. It's sort of like kimchee and I still eat them even though the relationship ended long ago. Call me weird.